Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

June 2nd, Thursday…

Liang Qingfan had already secluded himself for two days.

He had obtained the floor plans for the two buildings. The ones for the residential-commercial building had been easier to obtain because it was a relatively new building.

In comparison, the ones in Binhu District were much older. Liang Qingfan had expended a lot of effort acquiring the original floor plans after locating the property.

After that, he went into seclusion and isolation.

He really did not understand Boss Pei's intentions this time.

He could understand why Boss Pei used a minimalistic style for the huge apartments previously. After all, only ballers would be able to afford an apartment there, and a few ballers liked extreme minimalism.

However, he wanted to use the same style for a two-story loft of forty-odd square meters and a two-room apartment of sixty-odd square meters?

What else would there be in the apartments, then?

Liang Qingfan was confident that he would be able to solve the aesthetic problems; he would just have to spend more time and effort trying.

Still, how would Boss Pei resolve the complete lack of practicality?

Liang Qingfan was extremely confused, but he did not want to ask any questions.

The two-story lofts in the residential-commercial building were relatively easier to work with. They were small and the segmentation and usage of different parts of the apartment were clear. Thus, Liang Qingfan managed to quickly come up with the plan.

On the other hand, the 'mysterious' lake-side apartments in Binhu District were extremely difficult.

He had to find a practical use for the area with the arc French window that offered a 180-degree view of the surroundings. He also had to improve the home's functionality, enlarge the kitchen and bathroom, and widen the entrance and entryway.

All of those would affect the tenants' living experience. If Liang Qingfan didn't do this well, the renovations would fail no matter how fancy they were.

Fortunately, after getting the floor plans, Liang Qingfan learned that the heavy-looking wall that he had seen early was not in fact heavy. It could be easily modified.

Still, the plan would require a lot of effort.

"Go for it! Boss Pei said that difficult apartments like that would more clearly show the standard of the designer. No matter what, I have to modify the apartments well. I cannot let Boss Pei down!"

Liang Qingfan cast his questions aside and focused all of his energy on perfecting his own plan.

…

…

June 3rd, Friday…

At Fish-Catching Take-Out Shop Number One, the Gourmet Laboratory…

Rui Yuchen was alone in the shop, trying out the newly-produced fitness meal.

Although he was in charge of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Rui Yuchen felt bad neglecting the customers. Thus, he often walked around the shop and chatted with the customers. Sometimes, he even acted like one of the waiters.

Today, since he was in the mood, he sent all the waiters away and worked as the waiter himself. Since there were no customers around at this time, he decided to try out the newly-developed fitness meals.

Half of the transparent, glass lunch box was filled with sliced, stir-fried beef garnished with onions, carrots, and green peppers. The other half was filled with banana oatcakes and fried codfish.

There were fish, meat, and vegetables. Not only was this meal healthy, but it also met all nutritional requirements.

Deposit Fitness had already released the fitness meals that Fish-Catching Take-Out had developed earlier. The feedback was quite good.

Yet, Rui Yuchen did not stop there. Instead, he continued working hard to develop new fitness meals.

That was because he knew full well that, even though the Chinese fitness meal satisfied the customers' taste buds, they would get tired of it after eating it for a long time.

Thus, he had to ensure a greater variety of cuisines. That way, they would be able to keep changing the meals and maintain the sense of novelty for customers.

The fitness meals project would only be completed when customers looked forward to eating and no longer saw it as just another task to be completed.

Now, they had only achieved initial success. They still had to come up with greater variety.

Rui Yuchen had just picked up his chopsticks when he saw a familiar figure.

"Brother Lin, you're here. Take a seat," said Rui Yuchen warmly.

Lin Canrong sat down at a random seat and then scanned his surroundings. This was his first time at Fish-Catching Take-Out's Gourmet Laboratory.

Rui Yuchen said to the chef, "Serve one more fitness meal."

Lin Canrong looked emotional. "Fish-Catching Take-Out's Gourmet Laboratory looks pretty good."

Rui Yuchen stood up and got a drink for Lin Canrong. Smiling, he answered, "We renovated it according to Boss Pei's instructions. That's right, Brother Lin, didn't you say earlier that you wanted to set up a Gourmet Laboratory for Ming Yun Private Kitchen as well? How's it going?"

Lin Canrong shook his head. "Boss Pei didn't agree."

"He didn't?" Rui Yuchen was stunned. "Why not? Setting up a Gourmet Laboratory for Ming Yun Private Kitchen would be more appropriate, so that high-end customers would get a better dining experience, right?"

Lin Canrong took the fruit juice from Rui Yuchen and then took a sip. "That's what I thought at first, too. However, after a lot of consideration, I finally understood what Boss Pei intended.

"I felt very confused before about why Boss Pei allowed me to spend more money, but not to expand or set up a Gourmet Laboratory. Where was I to spend all that money, then?

"After some time, I finally decided to spend the money on training employees!"

Rui Yuchen was stunned. "Training your employees?"

Lin Canrong nodded. "That's right. I can spend more money recruiting graduates from Handong University, who know how to speak multiple languages.

"At the same time, I can put all of my waiters through a common training program, so that they can memorize all the dishes on the menu, including how they're prepared, how much heat to apply, what they taste like, et cetera. That way, they can easily answer any questions that customers may have.

"I also signed the waiters up for some classes. Once we have more manpower and I come up with their working schedules, I can arrange for them to take turns to learn foreign languages during working hours."

Rui Yuchen: "Huh?"

Lin Canrong explained, "I thought hard about the clues Boss Pei gave to me before I decided to do this. Boss Pei didn't allow me to expand the restaurant because Ming Yun Private Kitchen is a high-end restaurant.

"There are limited ingredients, and the chefs were hired from different parts of the world with large sums of money. They are considered rare talents. If we open more branches, we won't be able to ensure the quality of the food. That would be akin to destroying our own reputation.

"That means what Boss Pei cares about is our reputation!

"If I must continue spending more money, what should I spend it on? Of course, I have to increase the influence of our golden signboard!

"I kept thinking along those lines. We already have excellent chefs who would only improve with time; spending money on them would be pointless. We already have the best of the best ingredients. That means the only thing that can be improved is our service.

"That was why I worked on the waiters!

"For all we know, foreigners might visit Ming Yun Private Kitchen in the future. If our waiters can speak foreign languages, foreign customers would be even happier. Investing money into this would be very meaningful."

A realization dawned on Rui Yuchen. "I see. Boss Pei has such a globalized view. Ming Yun Private Kitchen is indeed very famous in the country already. It's time we prepared to welcome friends from all over the world."

Lin Canrong continued speaking. "On top of that, I signed all of Ming Yun Private Kitchen's waiters up for sessions at Deposit Fitness.

"Boss Pei knew that any gym in Ming Yun Villas would incur losses, and yet he still set Deposit Fitness up there. I guessed that he probably did that for the employees!

"I spent some time observing the situation, and I was right. He even signed DGE Esports Club up for gym sessions. Thinking that Ming Yun Private Kitchen cannot fall behind, I arranged for the waiters to train there.

"A few of the waiters have serious problems with managing their physical fitness. That might leave customers with a bad impression. It's another area to work on."

Rui Yuchen nodded. "I see… but I still think it's possible to set up a Gourmet Laboratory for Ming Yun Private Kitchen."

Both men chatted, and the fitness meals were finally ready.

"Come, Brother Lin. Try the fitness meal that the Gourmet Laboratory just developed." Rui Yuchen stood up, walked to the kitchen, and served a fitness meal to Lin Canrong.

Lin Canrong tasted it. "Mm, it's not bad."

Rui Yuchen smiled. "Brother Lin, you taste Ming Yun Private Kitchen's dishes every single day. A 'not bad' from you is enough to satisfy me."

Lin Canrong continued eating. "I really think it's not bad. For a fitness meal, it's extremely delicious already.

"What were we talking about earlier?"

Rui Yuchen said, "I was saying that it's possible for Ming Yun Private Kitchen to set up a Gourmet Laboratory to improve its dishes."

Lin Canrong nodded. "That's right. Boss Pei has thought of that as well.

"He didn't allow Ming Yun Private Kitchen to set up a Gourmet Laboratory. He said he would only allow me to use the research results from Fish-Catching Take-Out's Gourmet Laboratory'."

Rui Yuchen was stunned. "Use our research results? They'll be useless to you. All of them are averagely-priced dishes; you can't sell them at Ming Yun Private Kitchen."

Lin Canrong smiled and shook his head. "That's what I thought at first, too. However, I later realized that there was more to Boss Pei's words!

"Both of our departments are in the food and beverage industry. On the surface, one is a high-end restaurant, and the other is an averagely-priced take-out business. However, both of them are brands under Tengda Corporation!

"If we each started a Gourmet Laboratory to work on our own projects, we would not be able to maximize common resources. In fact, we would be wasting resources.

"What's more, it makes sense for Fish-Catching Take-Out to set up a Gourmet Laboratory, given its size. Ming Yun Private Kitchen is a small-scale restaurant. No matter how popular it is, there is only one restaurant. Running a Gourmet Laboratory would be exhausting—it would be biting off more than it can chew.

"However, what if we combined our resources?

"Boss Pei said he would let Ming Yun Private Kitchen make use of Fish-Catching Take-Out's research results. He was hinting to us not to draw such a distinct line between us. We can research together and share the results. One Gourmet Laboratory is more than enough!"

A realization dawned on Rui Yuchen. "Oh, so that's it!"

Lin Canrong continued speaking. "That's why I planned to send chefs to the Gourmet Laboratory regularly. They will try out new cooking methods and new dishes, and your nutritionist and professionals can help to give their feedback."

Rui Yuchen nodded decisively. "Of course, I would love that! If you discover new dishes, we would be able to use them as well. It could even inspire those working at the laboratory!"

Lin Canrong could not help but feel emotional. Boss Pei always had the clearest view of the problem!

Before this, Lin Canrong had been throwing a minor tantrum. Why should Fish-Catching Take-Out be allowed to rapidly expand despite incurring losses? Why should Ming Yun Private Kitchen remain stagnant despite generating profits for so long?

Was Boss Pei biased?

Now, it was clear that Lin Canrong had misunderstood Boss Pei.

Boss Pei was emphasizing the fact that Ming Yun Private Kitchen and Fish-Catching Take-Out were both important food and beverage businesses in Tengda Corporation's plan. Thus, they should work together without being calculative!